Heavy Wears The Crown

Forty Eight

 "How to be brave? How can I love when I'm afraid to fall? But watching you stand alone, all of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow. "

---------- A Thousand Years - Tanner Patrick (Christina Perri Cover) ----------

Nolan

She showed up, right on time true to Carter form. More than likely she'd came fifteen minutes early and parked around the block obsessively watching the time tick down. She looked beautiful, also true to Carter form. She'd dressed up accordingly for the occasion with her hair pulled back in some kind of fancy bun. I smiled remembering how she used to throw a fit when I called her Red, ranting on about how she didn't have red hair, didn't use red lipstick, only owned one red dress, how someone with only one red dress and blue nail polish should never be referred to as red. She was wearing the red dress tonight.

She was toying with her bracelet nervously looking around when she finally saw me. I gave her a light wave and reluctantly she approached the table. "You're full of it. They didn't check my ID...they didn't even show me to the table."

Probably because I'd rented the whole back room out and it seemed unnecessary to show someone to the only populated table back here.

"Where is everyone?"

I looked around the large, empty, table. "We are everyone." She was probably expecting the many guests as I had promised and yet we were alone.

Her eye brows rose, she looked confused for only a moment before catching on, her expression turned to fury.

I jumped to my feet and chased after her as she was immediately on the move. I grabbed her wrist and she pulled it harshly out of my grip and shoved me. I raised both of my hands palms up submissively. "Sorry." Grabbing her after everything she had been through was probably not my greatest idea. She was a butterfly, beautiful and gentle but also vulnerable. A push now, a rough hand...there was no more bending. "I just wanted to talk."

"Typical Nolan, always lying and deceiving to get his way!" She seethed and took several steps backwards furiously separating us. I had gone too far now, the piece of Carter that was scared to push me too far for fear of losing one another had been so fragile before, I'd been hanging by a thread and I had brought the scissors myself when I manipulated her here tonight.

"Five minutes Carter, please."

"I don't work for you, I don't have to play your little games anymore, you don't get your stupid five minutes anymore!"

"This isn't a game. Just talk to me."

"I don't want to!"

"Yes. You do. Whether you want to admit it or not you care about me. You came to my house after Kaleb attacked you, there's a reason for that, there's a reason that you wouldn't let anyone touch you in the hospital until I came into the room, there's a reason you asked me to stay with you! Quit being so God damned stubborn and accept this!"

"No!" She turned and started out of the restaurant again and I followed her, out the door and down the steps where I cut in front of her. "I only went to your house that day because I knew you were gone, the exact reason was to not have to see anyone, especially you!"

"And in the hospital? What about then? Huh? Why was I the only one you could talk to?"

"I was in shock. God Nolan haven't you put me through enough? Why can't you just let me be?"
"Why? Why can't you stand here and talk to me for five minutes? Huh?"